On the eve of the first T20I against England, India skipper Virat Kohli confirmed that Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will be the team's opening combination in the shortest format going ahead.
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He might be doing wonders in Test and domestic cricket lately, but Kohli made it clear that veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will not be considered in the white-ball format till Washington Sundar is performing.
The five-match T20I series against England is seen as dress-rehearsal for the forthcoming T20 World Cup, slated to be held in India later this year.
"If Rohit plays, then it's simple. KL (Rahul) and Rohit have been performing consistently at the top of the order for us and those two will start," Kohli said at the pre-match press conference.
"In a situation, Rohit takes rest and KL has a niggle or something, Shikhi (Dhawan's nickname in team) obviously comes in as the third opener but the starting composition, Rohit and Rahul will be the ones who will start."
Kohli was left annoyed when asked about Ashwin's chances of making a comeback looking at his stellar showing in IPL last time.
"Washington has been doing really well for us. So you cannot have two players of the same discipline, playing in one spot. So (this will not happen) unless Washy has drastically horrible season and things go south for him," the captain remarked.
In 26 T20Is, Sundar has claimed 21 wickets at an average of 29.14 while he boasts an impressive economy rate of 6.95.
"I mean the question has to be asked with some kind of logic as well. You suggest where you would add Ash, and play him in the team?" Kohli said. "Washington already does that job for the team. It's easy to ask a question but you should have a logical explanation to it yourself."
Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy's repeated fitness test failures recently caught everyone’s attention and Kohli made it clear that anyone aspiring to play for India needs to match the fitness criteria.
“Look individuals need to understand the systems that have been created for the Indian cricket team. We should operate at very high levels of fitness and skills and that's why this (India team) is top of the ladder when playing cricket, in our country,” he said.
"We would expect players to abide by what's required to be a part of Team India. There shouldn't be space for any compromise, in that regard," the Indian captain concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
